MAYDAY

FARCEBOOK

ALL OUT!

Six senior Labour staffers quit before new general secretary Jennie Formby starts

But Mrs May, in her constituency of Maidenhead, Berks, yesterday, said: “Let’s be clear. The 0.7 per cent commitment remains and will remain.

“What we need to do though is to look at how that money is spent and make sure we are able to spend that money in the most effective way.”

The 0.7 per cent target means that as economic output or GDP grows, so does the amount spent on overseas aid.

By 2020 the budget is expected to hit £16billion.

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Mrs May signalled that the Government’s 'Triple Lock' on pensions — which has guaranteed OAPs above-inflation rises in the state pension since 2010 — could go

Gaffes that have seen money earmarked for Chinese social care and on helping find a mate for a rare breed of tropical fish led to the Government being accused of wasting huge amounts of taxpayers’ cash.

Mrs May’s rally was designed to defend her call for a snap election — and ensure that ­voters turn out on June 8.

But the Chancellor’s comments at the IMF in the US soon overshadowed his boss — and stunned senior colleagues.

He said: “I’m not in the business of having some ideological desire to increase taxes. But I also think we need to manage our economy sensibly and sustainably.

“It’s self-evidently clear that the commitments that were made in the 2015 Manifesto did and do today constrain the ability of the Government to manage the economy flexibly.”

Panic-stricken Treasury sources insisted the comments were about the 2015 Manifesto — and that Mr Hammond wasn’t ref-erring to upcoming promises. He then rushed out a statement saying: “We will and will always be the low-tax party.”

Helping find a mate for a rare breed of tropical fish led to the Government being accused of wasting huge amounts of taxpayers’ cash

Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Business, said: “A key test for political parties in this election is what they plan to do to support Britain’s 4.8 million self-employed strivers.

“Any plan to clobber them with a tax hike would be a real kicking for this group of motivated voters.”